The present invention relates to the general art of dental hygiene and, more particularly, to devices that hold and position dental floss between a person's teeth.
A common technique to remove debris between one's teeth is to stretch a strand of floss between the hands and manipulate the floss in and around the space between the teeth. This method, however, is awkward and, moreover, the user increases the risk of slippage and painful skin cuts. To eliminate such problems, inventors have developed a number of devices to hold and secure dental floss during the flossing operation.
One such early design by Chamberlin is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,784,722. The '722 patent incorporates an elongated handle attached to a forked shaped head. Floss is stretched across the two members that form the fork. One hand is required to perform the flossing operation. The elongated handle permits the user to reach the rearmost teeth without extending the hand into the mouth. The handle is designed to hold spare floss. This design, however, is somewhat bulky and requires the user to perform the flossing operation with the hand positioned some distance from the teeth. In this way, the user's sensitivity to the flossing operation is reduced. In addition, the design requires that the flossing operation be performed by using more than one finger.
A later design by Adams is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,821. The '821 design employs a pair of caps or thimbles to engage over two fingers on different hands of the user. Floss is stretched from one finger to the other. The thimbles frictionally clamp the dental floss to the fingers so that the floss may be properly tensioned for use without requiring that floss be wound around the finger tips. Like the Chamberlin design, the '821 patent requires a person to use more than one finger to floss, and further, the user is required to use both hands to perform the flossing operation.
Finally, a more recent design is disclosed by Yafai in U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,246. The Yafai apparatus incorporates a U-shaped frame that holds an endless loop of floss. The endless loop fits around the frame so that the floss extends across from one prong of the "U" to the other opposing prong. The user holds and manipulates the frame by clasping it between the thumb and forefinger. Like the Chamberlin device, the '246 apparatus is bulky and requires the user to employ more than one finger to accomplish the flossing operation. Also, the user's sensitivity to the flossing operation is similarly reduced.
The hygiene devices noted above all require two or more fingers to operate. In addition, all of these devices are bulky and reduce sensitivity to the flossing operation. Accordingly, a need remains for a flossing device that is simple, inexpensive, compact, easy and safe to use, and that can readily be adapted to use with only one finger.